In this week’s batch of new songs, Jo Dee Messina extends her current career resurgence with an uplifting empowerment anthem, while Frank Ray offers a 15-song debut that serves as a perfect soundtrack for any party. Elsewhere, bluegrass wunderkind Wyatt Ellis showcases his mandolin prowess on a new song with bluegrass stalwart (and fellow mandolin powerhouse) Sierra Hull. Also, veteran country quartet Girls Next Door reunites again after more than a decade.
Jo Dee Messina, “Just to Be Loved”
Following her recent career resurgence, thanks to her classic “Heads Carolina, Tails California” being interpolated as part of Cole Swindell’s chart-topper “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” (in addition to their subsequent collaboration on a remake of track), Messina returns with this uptempo track she wrote with Jess Cates, Tim Nichols and Jordan Mohilowski. Here, Messina’s voice is as charismatic as ever, further elevated by sprightly mandolin and shimmering production. She delivers this song’s uplifting message with conviction, making its statement of valuing self-acceptance and self-love over chasing the adoration of others a worthy addition to the country canon of uplifting female empowerment anthems such as Martina McBride’s “This One’s For the Girls” and Maren Morris’ “Girl.”
Girls Next Door, “What’s This Thing (You’ve Got About Leaving)”
The quartet of Cindy Nixon Psanos, Diane Williams Austin, Tammy Stephens Smith and Doris King Merrit notched nine singles on the Billboard country charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the 1986 top 10 hit “Slow Boat to China.” The group disbanded in 1991 to focus on their families, and briefly reunited in 2011. They come together again on this fiddle-drenched, harmony-soaked track that reflects on fighting urges to take flight from a steady relationship. Though the production here sounds slightly dated, the group’s harmonies are tight and joyous.
Frank Ray, Frank Ray
Ray first broke through with his Spanish-incorporating song “Streetlights,” and followed with the top 20 Country Airplay track “Country’d Look Good on You.” Both songs are included on his 15-track debut album, which is a deft mix of country, R&B and Latin. “Wasting Your Words” is a sultry, horn-driven blend of Latin and R&B. Elsewhere, his extends his affable vocal to showcase his range on “Learn Something New.” Evidenced by songs like “Let It Drop,” “Out on Me,” the twangy “Party With Strangers” and the ‘80s pop shaded “Spring Break,” this album is a light-hearted soundtrack that’s perfect for any party.
Drew Baldridge, “Honky Tonk Town”
Like many artists at the moment, Baldridge draws on the enduring popularity of rock-influenced, high-octane ‘90s country music. He teamed with writers Lydia Dall and Joel Hutsell on this track, which feels like an amalgam of the boot-scootin’, dancehall ready songs that artists like Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson and Shenandoah took to the top of the country charts in the 1990s. Propelled by relentless drums and guitars and laced with mandolin and keyboard, this track is a more successful result than most attempts at incorporating ‘90s country, thanks in part to Baldridge’s confident, rollicking vocals.
Lauren Alaina, “Just Wanna Know That You Love Me”
Alaina prolifically follows her recent Big Loud Records EP, Unlocked, with this pensive piano ballad with a simple plea — she doesn’t require all the finer things in life, and can withstand any adversity, as long she knows her lover’s commitment is uncompromising. It’s fitting that Alaina performed the song on a recent episode of The Bachelorette, as the song’s power-pop balladry construction houses a made-for-television quality. This elegant song comes courtesy of Brandy Clark, Sam Ellis and JoyBeth Taylor, and as always, Alaina displays her versatile, powerful vocals.
Wyatt Ellis with Sierra Hull, “Grassy Cove”
Mandolin player and teenage phenom Ellis has quickly cemented himself as a sterling newcomer in the bluegrass scene, having shared the stage with artists including Billy Strings, Marty Stuart, and Molly Tuttle, and also having played Merlefest and the Grand Ole Opry. On his latest, Ellis teams with veteran mandolin player and mentor Hull on this gorgeous instrumental piece, with the two musicians layering twin, agile mandolin parts. He and Hull co-wrote this ode to a small town in East Tennessee, with Justin Moses producing the song; impressively, the song is the result of Ellis’ first time in a recording studio.
Camille Parker, “Heartless”
Parker is a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2022, and was a contestant on Apple TV+’s talent show My Kind of Country. Written by Parker, Sara Bares and Reid Sorel, this is a superb, searing track that’s melded in retro-pop. Embedded in this danceable anthem is a empathetic salve for anyone who has followed their heart more than their logic when it comes to a toxic relationship. “That was the last time I’d throw caution to the wind/ I’ll never do it again,” Parker vows atop layers of guitar grooves and pedal steel, resulting a celebratory moment of emotional maturation and freedom.
Kat Hasty, “Why Do Good People Die”
After releasing the eight-song acoustic project, Drowning in Dreams, in 2021, Hasty returns with the three-song live EP Midland, highlighted by this sparse, rolling acoustic track that puts Hasty’s Texas twang front and center. The introspective song embodies inner contemplation of a musician in her late ’20s, focusing on the struggle between “standing out and fitting in,” between the pull of life on the road, and the tug of guilt that perhaps life would be better spent closer to home. She also ponders the existence of a higher power — and whether that higher power is good, when she sees good people dying around her.
